NREL Analysis Shows Promise for New Remote Sensing Technology in Wind Power

A study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) confirms that measurements taken by Second Wind’s Triton wind profiler system of wind speed and direction correlated well to meteorological (met) tower-based measurements.

"The Triton measurements correlated well with the met tower measurements during the six months we studied," said NREL Principal Scientist Dennis Elliott. "We see Triton as a valid stand-alone system for wind measurement studies. In addition, Triton was reliable, with an uptime of over 98 percent."

Triton is a ground-based remote sensing system that uses sodar to measure wind up to and above the 140-meter blade tip height of current utility-grade wind turbines. Designed for wind energy applications including wind resource assessment, micro-siting of wind turbines and ongoing monitoring of wind conditions on working wind farms, Triton has been in commercial use since April 2008.

"Any new technology faces an acceptance curve," said Larry Letteney, CEO of Second Wind. "This important study shows that Triton correlates well with the earlier technology, and is a sign of growing acceptance of Triton as a valid wind measurement technology."

In the NREL study, conducted under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), Second Wind provided NREL with more than six months of data from a measurement program conducted by a wind farm developer near an operating wind farm in Texas. The study collected data from a Triton and from an 80-meter met tower located nearby.

"We’re gratified by the results of the NREL study," said Walter Sass, CTO of Second Wind. "We have done numerous correlation studies that demonstrate Triton’s reliability and correlation with tower measurements. Having a respected national laboratory review our technology and confirm its correlation to the older, accepted standard is an important milestone for us. We are pleased to be able to contribute to NREL’s ongoing research in characterizing the performance of wind instruments."

The study found that the Triton data set "shows excellent agreement with the tower measurements" and also mentions Triton’s operational reliability, citing uptime of greater than 98 percent during the study period. A copy of the final study may be viewed at www.secondwind.com/landing/nrel.html.

NREL is the U.S. Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

Second Wind develops wind measurement systems that make wind power pay off for consumers, investors and the environment. The company’s technology provides wind farm developers with the bankable wind data they need to plan, finance and operate highly efficient wind generation facilities. Second Wind’s systems are making wind farm development profitable in 40 countries on seven continents. Second Wind’s systems include the wind industry’s leading remote sensing system, wind data logger and web-based data service.